EHR interoperability issue causes polypharmacy problem

The absence of interoperability between outside pharmacies and EHR systems Composite Health Care System and the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal Technology Application has caused the failure to monitor multiple controlled substances prescribed for wounded and sick Marines at the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Camp Lejeune, N.C., according to a report by the Inspector General's Office of the Department of Defense. "Battalion senior leaders voiced concern that there was no real check on medications prescribed between civilian and military providers, so Marines could and had received duplicate prescriptions for large quantities of medications because the two systems were not reconciled," the report says.